How Protein Timing Can Help Stop Weight Gain as You Age.
One big secret to better health and energy as you age is protein timing! Did you know that if you and your grandson eat two eggs and a slice of whole-wheat toast for breakfast, your bodies will respond very differently? These differences explain why we gain weight as we age and most importantly, how we can reverse that process!
The difference between your body now and your body when you were in your 20s is not metabolism. A study published in the journal Science in August 2021 found that our individual cells rev at pretty much the same rate in our 40s and 50s must as they did in our 20s. Our metabolic rate does not start to slow until about age 60 when it begins to drop at a rate of .07 percent a year. The good news is you can actually control weight gain as you age through protein timing!
Breakfast is the most fat fighting meal. If you don’t start the day with enough protein, you risk losing muscle regardless of how much you eat the rest of the day.
The key is PROTEIN. Your grandson can eat 16.5 grams of protein at breakfast from the eggs and toast and his body, using maximum efficiency, turns the protein into healthy new muscle cells. It’s called protein synthesis. But in your body, something else is going on. Studies show that older adults need at least 25-30 grams of protein at a time to stimulate the same muscle-building process that a younger person can get from two eggs.
The less muscle we have, the more weight we gain. Muscle not only burns more calories, but it helps to control blood sugar. Studies show that as we age, those who fail to get 25-30 grams of protein in the morning are likely to stay in muscle-loss mode all day. Between the ages of 30 and 40, adults begin to lose 3 to 8 percent of their muscle mass each decade. The human body is constantly breaking down and building up muscle, but when the destruction of muscle outstrips its rate of repair over the long term, that eventually leads to loss of muscle tissue.
Here are some great tips on preserving muscle at age 50+
Eat at least 25 grams of protein at every meal, especially breakfast, and at least one daily snack of at least 7 grams of protein. Women at mid-life need 75-100 grams of protein per day and men need 90-120 grams per day.
Eat colorful fruits and vegetables at every meal and snack.
Up your fiber intake with whole grains and legumes.
Try strength training. Studies show that when people in their 60s mix protein-rich meals with resistance exercise, their bodies respond as though they were in their 20s. WOW!!
Start implementing protein timing to start on your journey to better health in 2022.
